Hey Everyone! I am new to the forum for the most part. i went Vegan about 10 weeks ago and i have lost about 15 pounds or so. i am a personal trainer who is looking for some help from those of you who have experience with my situation. i am a smaller ectomorph type who can gain fat given a bad diet. I am 29 years old and i would like to add some size obviosly, but i am also not lean enough. I am stuck in a rut where i want to grow but i also want to lose this body fat. The impedence shows my bodyfat at about 14% or so. In 2011 i did not exercise much and i was away from the gym, so although i had been training for years, i did get sloppy in late 2010-December 2011. The vegan diet helped me drop most of the fat, i think dairy was the kicker for me. My diet varies but i will give an average of a typical day:Breakfast: Steel cut oats with a whole apple and some blueberries with peanut butterSnack one: a handful of pistachiosWorkout around noonProtein shake consisting of protein powder and some sort of simple carb (mocha powder) with water Lunch: a very large salad with balsamic vinagrette dressing and various greens and peppers, cucumbers, etc.. with walnuts on topSnack 2 LarabarDinner: homemade soup which usually consists of beans and veggies.

Now this is just a sample, my meals change daily, is that a bad idea? Back in the day, i would have meat and starches with every meal but obviosly that doesnt work here.

My workouts consist of 5-6 days a week of strength training focusing on the major muscle groups. I throw in abs and calves/ forearms in where i see fit. I do about 12-14 sets per day of a weight of abput 6-12 reps, varying Chest/trisBack/bisShoulders/ Traps/ LegsRepeat this cycle over

Ive never done a journal online before so i apologize if this is not the best format to do so. Any advice is appreciated. My progress has slowed down a little, in my opinion. I look small and soft right now. i am 5'8" and i weigh 153 pounds, 14-16% bodyfat according to the impedence scale

Looks like you're on the right track. If you're looking to cut, try tossing in some cardio into the mix. Maybe using dumbells or kettlebells will help. The strategy is like sprint training. You go hard for 30 seconds then break 30. Think sprinters, hockey players, basketball players. There's a term for this but I forget right now. By using weights you're also building strength and endurance. At least I hope so because this is what I'm currently doing after a layoff.

Thanks for the response. Cardio is something i do not do too much of. i have only been doing it to benefit my heart, maybe twice a week for 20 minutes. Also once a week or so i do a high intensity lift, keeping my heart rate up. Im thinking its not enough, based on what i am reading on some posts hereIm thinking i should get the bodyfat down under 10 percent so that i can "look" bigger and then grow from there. I think if i lose another 7-8 pounds and get to 145, most of the weight will come from the abdominal and chest area, not my face and arms.At least i hope so.

So today i did a ton of cardio; 20 minutes stair climber (225 calories), 5 minutes rowing 1000 meters, and 15 minutes on the AMT elliptical. I burned about 500 calories total. i also reduced my calories to 1600 (i was doing 2000-2200) and tonight i am trying crossfit or at least seeing what is like. im a little hungary but nothing i cant handle right now

As of today, i am 149 pounds. So i am down 4 pounds in about 9 days or so. My bodyfat read at 13.5% 2 days ago so the numbers are moving in the right direction. It looks like the lats are coming through more and can be seen from the front now. I had to up the calories to 1750-1800 because 1600 was just not enough to fuel me and i was dragging. This week i went to 4 crossfit workouts and also did a little bit of weight lifting. It was my first time trying crossffit so my body was just getting used to it. Now i see where i can mix bodybuilding and crossfit together, so i can have the best of both worlds hopefully.Yesterday i ran 5 miles non-stop. That is a personal best for me. took me about 40 minutes and my heart rate was steady at 165 or so. I felt really accomplished afterward, as i want to run a 10k in a month or so. I ran my first 5k last weekend and my time was 24:45 which i was heppy with considering it was my third time running that long of a distance.Today i am going to superset back and chest like Arnold used to do. lets see how it goes

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